Do No Harm: Reflections on Healthcare
10 artists. 39 works.
Participating artists: Adedolapo Boluwatife, Dr Tanishka Brahmanand, Kaanchi Chopra, Frankey Chung, Maria Koijck, Edwina Green, Dr Liz Hu, Professor David Karoly, Janet Laurence and Dr Bob Smith.
These Weather Burst graphics show daily weather data for maximum and minimum temperature and rainfall for each day in one year, starting from 1 January at the top and moving clockwise through the year (365 days around the circle). The daily rainfall is the drops in a circle inside the temperature lines. The data are from the Bureau of Meteorology observation site for Melbourne city centre, which moved to a new location in January 2015. It is clear that there are much hotter temperatures and more variability in spring and summer than in winter. Can you find “Black Saturday” in 2009, the record highest maximum temperature observed in Melbourne of 46.4 degrees? Can you see the long-term warming in Melbourne? Based on original design by Cordial Creative for the CLIMARTE ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE 2015 festival.
In this powerful film still, artist Maria Koijck confronts the environmental cost of modern medicine by surrounding herself with the waste generated from her own reconstructive surgery. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019, Koijck underwent a mastectomy followed by a complex reconstructive procedure. Grateful for the skill and care that restored her health, she was nonetheless struck by the staggering volume of disposable materials used - nearly 60% of surgical items. Among them, stainless steel scissors flown in from Japan and discarded after a single cut became emblems of a system built on excess. Koijck asked her medical team to save every item used in her procedure. The result: six large bags of plastic waste — tangible evidence of what it takes to make one person “better.” This work transforms a deeply personal experience into a global question: As humans seek to heal, what is the cost to our environment? Since its release, the film has reached over a million viewers worldwide, featured across major media outlets including LINDA, RTL News, Editie NL, and NPO1, and prompted the engagement of HCPs with Green Teams and pharmaceutical companies committed to sustainable healthcare. It featured on the cover of Australian Anaesthesia News March 2025. “Personally, this was the work that paved my own investment into sustainability and climate advocacy. It was shown to me in a medical school lecture by Dr Forbes McGain. It was burned into my brain since, and it changed everything - Tanishka”
This work reclaims a vintage eye-testing light box: a relic of clinical precision; to illuminate the blurred and problematic realities of healthcare for First Peoples in Australia. Once used to measure vision, the object now serves as a lens through which to see the deeper inequities that persist in our health systems. By repurposing this instrument of diagnosis, the work asks: what does it mean to “see clearly” within structures that have long failed to recognise us? The familiar eye-chart letters are replaced with confronting statistics and truths; numbers that quantify disparities in life expectancy, chronic illness, and access to care, yet often remain invisible in the public gaze. Vintage Snellen chart and light box sourced from Medical Pantry.
While single-use devices are often favoured for infection prevention, the evidence supporting this is not consistent or compelling across all device types. With the increasing uptake of reusable tourniquets across hospitals presenting opportunities to cut down on single-use device utilisation, the larger question remains; how long will it take for us to re-prioritise reusable devices and build the renewable energy infrastructures required to reliably sterilise and clean equipment? Made with tourniquets collected by Austin Health ICU Nursing staff over one fortnight. Collection coordinated by Penny Ashworth and Clare Wensor.
Non-sterile nitrile gloves are often used inappropriately in clinical care, resulting in poorer hand hygiene habits, financial and environmental waste. On average, 30 pairs of gloves are used per patient per 12-hour shift in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units. Typically, gloves are to be utilised where contact with blood or body fluid is anticipated. Conversely, patient repositioning, bed linen changes, assisting mobilisation or patient tasks represent instances where gloves offer minimal infection control benefit. “Gloves off” campaigns have been successful worldwide, with further opportunities for propagation and uptake. Made with gloves collected by Austin Health ICU Nursing staff over one fortnight. Collection coordinated by Penny Ashworth and Clare Wensor. Matthew HA, Louise T, Deepak B, Naomi EH, Serena K, Forbes M, et al. How much do we throw away in the intensive care unit? An observational point prevalence study of Australian and New Zealand ICUs. Critical Care and Resuscitation. 2023;25(2):78-83.
Adedolapo Boluwatife is a photographer and filmmaker from Lagos, Nigeria, born in the Ojodu area. Invitation to Invade is a pro-nature and eco-conscious themed project that focuses on the issues of plastic pollution and its dangers. Further, this series invites the consideration of geographies and environments which are markedly vulnerable to the ever-evolving impacts of climate change.
Penumbra’ (noun) refers to an area of viable tissue reversibly injured by a lack of blood flow. Here, it becomes as a metaphor for the climate emergency; a circumstance reliant on time critical intervention and organised effort, but ultimately salvageable. Inspired by fractal branching patterns, this series is an ode to nature’s intricate organisational units which underpin how blood vessels vascularise to how tree roots nourish themselves. Made using expired syringes and drawing needles sourced from Medical Pantry.
This work transforms data into form, rendering an enduring healthcare dilemma into a tangible statistic utilising waste itself. Within 50 discarded 96-well assay plates, small glass beads occupy cavities to visualise the reality of modern medicine; where approximately 60% of healthcare delivers genuine benefit (necessary), 30% offers limited or no value, and 10% inflicts iatrogenic harm. The 60-30-10 Challenge has persisted for three decades, and asks what is required to break the impasse to achieve better, more cost-effective, and safer care. Braithwaite, J., Glasziou, P. & Westbrook, J. The three numbers you need to know about healthcare: the 60-30-10 Challenge. BMC Med 18, 102 (2020)
A lament for the silenced, Void of Voice interrogates the devastating extension of The North West Shelf; Western Australia’s oldest and largest gas processing plant, where Woodside Energy proposes to continue producing gas until 2070. Woodside’s plan for its Scarborough and Browse projects – two principal sets of gas fields - will directly impact key whale migration routes, and drill directly under Scott Reef; Australia’s largest standalone offshore coral reef. The Scarborough gas project alone is projected to generate approximately 876–878 million tonnes of CO₂ in emissions over its lifetime - an amount equivalent to twice Australia’s annual greenhouse-gas output. Modelling studies link the project to 484 additional heat-related deaths in Europe alone, the exposure of over 516,000 more people globally to unprecedented heat, and the loss of 16 million coral colonies per future bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef. This work memorialises the silenced: the coastal communities, First Nations custodians, the generations who will inherit a destabilised climate, and environmental groups including Doctors for the Environment who continue to advocate against fossil fuels. In the shadow of industrial ambition, the question stands; whose voices are heard, and whose are voided? Protecting our climate means rejecting new, extended, and expanded fossil fuel projects. Abram, N.J., Maher, N., Perkins-Kirkpatrick, S. et al. Quantifying the regional to global climate impacts of individual fossil fuel projects to inform decision-making. npj Clim. Action 4, 92 (2025) https://www.greenpeace.org.au/article/woodside-gas-north-west-shelf
Sterile reconfigures expired plastic diathermy tubing into coral-like formations paralleling two forms of sterility: that of the surgical field and the biological sterility of bleached reefs. Items designed to preserve life become a symbol of life’s dichotomous fragility. This work invites a reflection on the paradox of care - where systems built to protect human health can simultaneously endanger the health of the planet. Each segment of tubing mimics polyps drained of colour and life both beauty and decay. By transposing unused clinical waste into a biological motif, the work draws parallels between healthcare’s hidden environmental cost through significant plastic pollution, with the wider crisis of climate-induced coral loss. Both the reef and the healthcare system are represented as sites of strain.
Expressed as distance driven in a car, the carbon footprint of one full blood examination (FBE) is the equivalent of 770 m. Various blood tests are ordered routinely, with minimal clinical indication and often owing to habit. Opportunities to reduce the carbon footprint of pathology testing include reducing unnecessary blood tests, and considering the additional benefit of minimising patient discomfort. Made using expired medical suction tubing sourced from Medical Pantry. McAlister, S., Barratt, A. L., Bell, K. J., & McGain, F. (2020). The carbon footprint of pathology testing. The Medical journal of Australia, 212(8), 377–382.
Reclamation stages a quiet meeting between endings and beginnings. Cleaned intravenous drug vials cradle the seed pods from Australian native flora - symbols of life held within the discarded remnants of medical intervention. The work speaks to the the temporal and ethical entanglements between our health and this planet’s health. The vials, transparent and sterile, recall the aesthetic of control - yet inside them lies the unpredictable vitality of seed pods, whose germination resists containment. Further, the Australian native seed pods symbolise resilience and continuity - species evolved to survive cycles of drought, fire, and renewal. Through this convergence of waste and growth, Reclamation critiques the linear logic of consumption and expenditure we so often are complicit in accepting. The innumerous discarded IV vials further represent opportunities to opt for more sustainable clinical care. Intravenous paracetamol has 12-fold greater life-cycle carbon emissions than the oral tablet form. In addition, glass vials have higher greenhouse gas emissions than plastic vials. Ultimately, intravenous administration should be reserved only for cases in which oral formulations are not feasible (1). What might it mean to prescribe healing for the planet itself? Mother Nature is powerful, resilient and remarkable - we just need to give it the time and space to reclaim what we have taken for so long. Seeds foraged and identified with the help of Steven Wells - a nurse and horticulturalist based at Austin Health. (1) Davies, J. F., McAlister, S., Eckelman, M. J., McGain, F., Seglenieks, R., Gutman, E. N., Groome, J., Palipane, N., Latoff, K., Nielsen, D., Sherman, J. D., & TRA2SH, GASP and WAAREN collaborators (2024). Environmental and financial impacts of perioperative paracetamol use: a multicentre international life-cycle assessment. British Journal of Anaesthesia
Featured Artwork: Janet Laurence installations Deep Breathing: Resuscitation for the Reef installation, Museum d'Histoire Naturelle (2015) Requiem for Nature, Berry Courthouse (2025) Deep Breathing: Resuscitation for the Reef footage by Maggie Miles. Requiem for Nature Berry Courthouse footage by Harry Kelly Climate Guardians COP21 Day 12 protest footage in Paris by Sean Bedlam, courtesy of ClimActs performance collective. Narrator Karine Grimoux-Bunny Sound: Nicole Smede, Requiem for Nature 2025 Multichannel Sound Vocalisation Courtroom Voices: Stephen Feneley & Lara Boris
Operating theatres are arenas which both showcase the excellence of modern medicine, whilst also inadvertently generating approximately two-thirds of healthcare waste. We can harbour awe and appreciation for clinical medicine at its finest, though tempered by the intention to optimise processes to be less environmentally burdensome. Dr Smith was the appointed Director of Anaesthesia at Western Health in 1984, and remains a celebrated artist whose depictions in the operating theatre pay tribute to his colleagues.
Operating theatres are arenas which both showcase the excellence of modern medicine, whilst also inadvertently generating approximately two-thirds of healthcare waste. We can harbour awe and appreciation for clinical medicine at its finest, though tempered by the intention to optimise processes to be less environmentally burdensome. Dr Smith was the appointed Director of Anaesthesia at Western Health in 1984, and remains a celebrated artist whose depictions in the operating theatre pay tribute to his colleagues.
In Australian healthcare, 60% of care is high value care (necessary), 30% are low value (unnecessary) and 10% are unnecessary and conveys iatrogenic harm. This butterfly carries within its wings the familiar waste generated from everyday clinical activity; butterfly needles. We can choose wisely on the tests and investigations to minimise harm on human and planet.
Over a decade ago, it was revealed that the provision of goods to healthcare systems in high-income countries often involves products manufactured under precarious labour conditions, including surgical instruments and medical gloves. Many of these goods are manufactured in unregulated factories and sweatshops where, amongst other labour rights violations, workers are subject to considerable occupational health risks. In this installation, surgical instruments are removed from the context of an operating theatre - their function suspended to impel a re-examination of their own story. The chains become a physical metaphor for often opacified supply chains which underpin the procurement of these goods, each hanging instrument a node to stop upon and reflect on our ethical responsibilities in the purchasing process. The instruments become a commodity whose material, production and distribution embody global inequities. Health systems in high-income contexts have a duty to ensure that we do not exacerbate global health inequality, and can do so by ensuring that the products used to ensure health of people in their jurisdictions do not threaten the health of others living and working elsewhere. Instruments sourced from the Austin Health Central Sterilisation Services Department (CSSD). Many thanks to Dina. Trueba ML, Bhutta MF, Shahvisi A. Instruments of health and harm: how the procurement of healthcare goods contributes to global health inequality. Journal of Medical Ethics 2021;47:423-429
One salbutamol pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI) has the same greenhouse impact as driving 280km (1km of driving per puff!). pMDIs represent the single biggest source of carbon emissions from any prescribed medication. Why? Because the hydrofluorocarbons in pMDIs are powerful greenhouse gases. Better asthma disease control can reduce the use of these inhalers - a healthier option for both patients and the planet. Further, switching to dry powder inhalers (DPIs) when clinically appropriate has the potential to reduce device emissions by 97%. Forrester M, Needham C, Allender S, Hutchinson A, Perlen S, Rigby D, Shanthikumar S, Loftus MJ, Gazzard K, Hensher M, Tope H, Reddel H. The National Sustainable Asthma Care Roadmap – Roundtable Report. Asthma Australia. Melbourne. September 2024.
Visually oscillating between repetition and intricacy, Foraged Vertebrae mirrors the rhythmic flow of the radiological machine that scanned these garden flowers. The cyanofabric creates an archive of Northern India’s botanical diversity while merging scientific observation with artistic exploration. Delicate flowers are suspended and transformed into skeletal silhouettes, their veins, folds, and contours suggested through layered, translucent forms. The idea of combining radiology with botanical matter stems from Chopra’s longing to reveal what is invisible to the naked eye. She asks: How to better create and capture softness? What does delicacy look like when there is no structure holding it up? Her radiological explorations aim to inform botany by examining how flowers respond to heat, water scarcity, and pollution — all pressing climate challenges in India today. Dr. Renu Mahendru, Dr. Saanchi Mahendru, and Dharamvir Sir, all based in Agra, India, generously provided access to radiology equipment after clinic hours to avoid disrupting patient care. Chopra reviewed hundreds of digital slices using DICOM/PACS software, with frames selected for their transparency, subtle detail, and contrast. Following the scans, all flowers were preserved in a botanical press.
Chopra’s Breathe reimagines the hollyhock flower through radiological imaging, moving beyond surface beauty to reveal an inner anatomy of stems, petals, and delicate air pockets. The mirrored form evokes both botanical structure and human lungs, blurring the boundary between plant and patient.
Echoing the parallels between vascular networks and plant branches, foraged garden flowers are layered into near-perfect symmetry. Chopra employs radiology and scanography to illustrate both the fragility of individual blooms and the collective resilience of plant life, transforming familiar flowers into luminous, otherworldly forms that reflect nature’s pulse.
Images from Japan Meteorological Agency satellite Himawari 9 via Bureau of Meteorology. IDY28000 Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology Bureau National Operations Centre Image from 15 October 2018 A visible image for the whole globe centred on the equator north of Australia.